UPDATE: Suspect in custody for Rossville shooting; deputies identified

Robert Eric Ownbey
Robert Eric Ownbey
photo Robert Eric Ownbey

UPDATE: The Georgia Bureau of Investigation identified the two Walker County Sheriff's Office deputies involved in the shooting Tuesday: Deputy Harley Elliott and Deputy Bobby Weber.

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UPDATE: Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said deputies arrested Robert Eric Ownbey this afternoon. He said they received a tip that he used to live off East Sherry Drive, around the block from where the shooting occurred Tuesday.

At the house, Wilson said, deputies saw a trail of blood. After about 5 minutes, he turned himself in without incident. Wilson said Ownbey has a gunshot wound to his leg, and paramedics are on scene to treat him.

Wilson said he is not sure who the passenger was with Ownbey on Tuesday. He also is not sure whether the department will charge the owner of the vehicle Ownbey was driving.

"Not right today," he said. "That's something we're going to evaluate after the holidays."

After the shoot out, Wilson said, the owner of the vehicle gave investigators the name of a suspect - except that person happens to be incarcerated at Lee State Prison. Wilson said the woman was more cooperative when they realized she lied to them.

No deputies were injured as a result of the shootout. But one person did get hurt. Deputy Corey Griffen, the department's K-9 handler, had to get medical treatment after his dog bit him during the rush of the investigation.

Investigators also cut a hole in the floor of the home under construction near where the shoot out took place Tuesday. They believed Ownbey was hiding in the crawl space at the time.

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ORIGINAL STORY: Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said detectives believe 45-year-old Robert Eric Ownbey is the man who exchanged fire with deputies in Rossville on Tuesday afternoon.

Ownbey is still at large. Wilson said detectives identified him as the suspect after talking to multiple sources. The sheriff's office took out warrants today against him on two counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer.

"We're asking people, if they see something, please say something," Wilson said.

Wilson said a deputy tried to pull Ownbey over in a Hyundai Sonata at 2:28 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon for driving with an illegal window tint and failing to use his signal before making a turn. Ownbey then sped a block down Raydine Lane, which is off Wilson Road in Rossville. He dropped a passenger off, whipped through a couple of turns and stopped near a house under construction in a secluded area. He and two deputies exchanged fires.

Wilson said Ownbey did not hit the deputies. But one of the deputies hit Ownbey. Bleeding and out of bullets, he dropped his automatic .45 and retreated into the house, where three people worked. He then ran into the woods.

The suspect's last name has appeared in other arrest reports as "Owenby" and "Ownby," but Wilson said he believes these are incorrect spellings.

Wilson previously identified another man as the shooter. But that suspect, Robert Dean Root, is actually incarcerated in Lee State Prison. Wilson said the owner of the vehicle gave detective's Root's name Tuesday, but they later realized she mislead them.

The sheriff's office has not taken out warrants against the passenger who had been with Ownbey before the shooting. Wilson previously identified the passenger as John A. Ross III.

Asked if there was anything in the vehicle Tuesday that would have motivated Ownbey to begin the car chase, Wilson said he was not sure. He asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to look into the shooting, since it involved two deputies.

"They are still processing the crime scene," he said of the GBI. "They have not told me anything about what was in the car."

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